Flatiron



April 23, 1935. Y J, W, MYERS 1,999,107

FLATIRON Filed MaIOh 22, 19434 uulllm, imma, z

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atented Apre23, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLATIEON Joseph W. 'Myers, Philadelphia, Pa., assigner to Proctor & Schwartz Electric Co., Philadelphia. Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 22. 1934. Serial No. 716,814

" a clame. (ci. zia-z) This invention v relates to electrically heated Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the slot cover; flat-irons and. more particularly, to that part and or the iron known as the sole plete end the heat- Fis. 6 is a diagrammatic perspective view i1- ing means therefor. The principal object of the lustrating the arrangement of the heating coils. 5 invention is to provide a novelly constructed sole l'iveferi'lliier now t0 the drawing, the iron 00in- 5 plate and heating unit, the unit being embedded prises the usual sole plate I, cover 2 and handle in refractory cement within a slot or slots in the Structure 3. Referring particularly to Figs. 2, 3 sole plate. and ii, the sole plate is formed so as to provide 'I'he embedding of the heating element of a a channel-like slot 4 extending along the sides 10 nat-iron in refractory cement is not broadly new and back, and dening n. central area 5 which 10 but heretofore the heating coil been disis preferably reces-Sed and adapted t0 seat a posed in multiple loops lying flat a plane paralthermostatic switch unit 8 which forms the sublel to the bottom of the iron. This arrangement ject matter o! my eopendlng BDDlleatlOn, Serial has the objection that. the heat from the coils N0. 716,873, led March 22, 1934. It will be seen l5 can only be abstracted from the side oir the heatthat Slet 4 eelnpliSeS Side Slet running length- 15 ing unit that is adjacent the sole plate of the wise of the iron and connected at the rear by a iron. Then too, there is the further objection transverse Slet. that a relatively large area of the refractory AS ShOWn more Clearly ln F18- 4, the Blot iS cement is exposed to the moisture in the air preferably formed so that it is deeper than it la 20 which lowers the resistance of the unit to ground. Wide and lt iS till-1S ndpted t0 receive the SllPel- 20 II it is attempted to exclude the moisture bythe posed portions 0f e Unitary heating unit l. The use of a cover, considerable difficulty is involved. Slet may, 0f COlllSe, take Shapes other than that In accordance with the present invention, the lhOWn and it may have any desired dlnlenSlOnS- sole plate is formed so as to provide a channel The heating llnlt le embedded ln e refretly lntherein which is as nan-0W as possible cmsider- Blilatlllg mteill a which may take the Ol'm 0f 25 ing the diameter of the resistance coil to be any Suitable refractory body which is commonly embedded. I am aware that narrow milled slots Sed in liet-irene 0l' like deVleeS The insulating have been used heretofore in flat-irons and like materiel Substantially iills the slot and ishighly devices, but such slots have contained a. sinuous Compressed therein S0 8S t0 Support the heating 3o conductor or large fiat-,tened helix usually insuunit in desired relation with respect to the sole 30 lated with mica. As far as I know, I am the plete. rst one to embed undr pressure the heating By having the slot deep enough to use superunit in a refractory cement within such a slot. posed Sections 0f the heating unit, lt i8 POSSible A` preferred feature of the invention resides t0 Se e relatively heavy conductor instead of a in the use of a channel or, slot which is deep single loop of a iine conductor. In other words. 3c enough to permit of using two superposed c01134 the desired resistance is` had by the use of a arranged as hereinafter desoribed'and having larger conductor of relativeiylonserleneth. The the advantages hereinafter set north.V heating unit terminals are shown at 9 and it will A further feature of the invention resides in be seen that the unit enters the slot at the rear 4U the use of .la novelly constructed and arranged Central DOltlOn thereof and P88665 successively in 40 cover for the slot whlchhas deilnite advantages 1000s through the Side DeltlODS 0f the Slet. Ieas hereinafter describd turning to the point where it enters (see Fig. 6).

other objects and improved features f` the Thus, there is provided in each of the side slots invention will be apparent hereinafter from the two Superposed conductms forming 100P- BY following detailed description of the preferred this arrangement, the heating element gives of! 45 structure illustrated in they drawing, in which: gare hgtgmtl sidefwans f the 81m" than t0 the p or ereo il alg-g. 1 is a side elevational v icw of the complete hetmetllcgvslzilwmh istggfemgfmedtf s s e o er rac ma and e Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the sole plate and embedded heating unit securely m M This 50 its associated heating unit; cover may' be rformed in two sectie l Fig. 3 is. a sectional view along line 3-3 of ns' as Ceelly Hg 2. l illutrated in Thr enciil;1 oftsthtr cover seconsmay rdgedy ca ee oh v Figli is a sectional view along line 4-I of which the heating unit'terminals may extendmasl te Fig. 2, shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Preferably. the cover 55 has its edges bent downward and engaging the sides of the slot as at I l The cover forms a tight seal with the walls of the slots so as to exclude atmospheric moisture from the refractory insulation in which the heating element is embedded. The arrangement of the cover with the walls of the slot wedges the cover securely in place, and

resists any expansion of the refractory material resulting from the release of the very high pressure with which the cover is pressed into position directly on top of the insulating material and also from the thermal -expansion of the refractory material when'it is heated by the embedded unit. Any expansion of the refractory material tends to force the depending sides oi the cover outward into greater frictional engagement with the walls of the slot, thus tending to more securely lock the cover in place.

A further advantage of the cover is that it transmits the heat which it receives from the top of the refractory insulation to the side walls of the slot. This heat conductivity of the cover to the side walls is particularly pronounced owing to the fact that it is quite narrow. As a result of this and the fact that the heating unit is surrounded on three sides by the sole plate, substantially the same thermal eillciency is obtained from the unit as though it were entirely cast into the sole plate, without the disadvantages incident to casting the unit into the sole plate, such as expensive manufacture, foundry losses, etc. 'I'his structure is economical in manufacture, highly resistantY to moisture, and obtains 'maximum possible thermal eiilciency.

It is further contemplated by the inventionto provide a tilting support I2 in the form of a mev tallic rod bent as illustrated clearly in Fig. 2 and having its ends embedded in the'sole plate as at is. This aiords a simple and inexpensive way ofrigidly and rmly securing the rod in desired position so that it extends from the back of the iron, as clearly illustrated. The function of this member is, of course, to enable tilting of the iron on its end during periods of non use. particularly when the iron is hot.

It will be seen that the structure of the iron as a whole is compact and simple. The heating unit structure enables the mounting of the thermostatic switch unit in a central recess and in intimate contact with the hottest part of the sole plate. This arrangement greatly enhances the eiiiciency of the iron.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described with reference to a preferred form, it will be understood that various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In its broad aspect, the invention contemplates the provision of a narrow slot in the sole plate and the embedding of a conductor in refractory cement within the slot.

I claim:

1. In a flat-iron, a metallic plate or block to be heated having formed therein a slot of considerably greater depth than width, an electrical heating element comprising at least two superposed conductors disposed Within said slot, and compressed refractory insulating material surrounding said element and supporting `the same. in said slot in proper relation to said plate.

2. In a flat-iron, a metallic plate or block to be heated having formed therein a slot of considerably greater depth than width having a portion running lengthwise of the iron, an electrical heating element disposed within said slot.

,refractory insulating material surrounding said element and supporting the same in said slot in proper relation to said plate.

3. In a flat-iron, a sole plate having formed therein a. slot of considerably greater depth than width running around the top of the plate, an electrical heating element having its terminal ends at the rear of the iron and comprising superposed sections running forward and backward in a single portionof said slot, and compressed refractory insulating material surrounding said element and supporting the same in said slot in proper relation to Said plate. l

4. In a' nat-iron, a sole plate having formed therein a plurality of slots of considerably greater depth than width running lengthwise of the iron,

van electrical heating element having its terminal ends at the rear of the iron and comprising successive loops disposed respectively in said slots with the sides of each loop in superposed relation, and compressed refractory insulating material surrounding each loop and supporting the same in its slot in proper relation to said plate.

5. In a nat-iron, a sole plate having formed therein a slot of considerably greater depth than width running around the top of the plate, an electrical heating element having its terminal ends atthe rear of the iron and comprising successive loops disposed respectively in portions of said slot with the sides of each loop in superposed relation, and compressed refractory insulating material surrounding said element and supporting the same in said slot in proper relation to said plate.

6. In a flat-iron, a metallic plate or block to be heated having a slot formed therein, an electrical heating element disposed within said slot, compressed refractory insulating material surrounding said element and supporting the same in said slot in proper relation to said plate, and

an inverted channel-shaped sheet metal cover disposed in said slot with said material between the depending flanges of said cover, whereby expension of said material forces the cover more securely in place and displacement of the cover due to such expansion is effectively prevented.

7. In a flat-iron, a metallic plate or block to be heated having a slot formed therein, an electrical heating element disposed within said slot, compressed refractory insulating material surrounding said element and supporting the same in said slot in proper relation-to said plate, and a sheet metal cover closing the slot and having its edges bent downward into binding contact with the slot walls with said material between the cover edges, whereby expansion of said material forces the cover more securely in place and displacement of the cover due to such expansion is effectively prevented.

8. In a nat-iron, a metallic plate or block to be heated having a slot formed therein, an electrical heating element disposed within said slot, compressed refractory insulating material'surrounding said element and supporting the same in said slot in proper relation to said plate, and a sheet metal cover closing the slot and having a flange extending between the refractory ma.- terial and wall of the slot and in intimate contact with the wall whereby expansion of said material forces the ange more securely against the wall of the slot and in intimate contact with a side of the slot which permits o! ready transfer o1' heat from the cover to the slot wall.

9. In a nat-iron, a metallic plate or block to be heated having a slot of greater depth than width formed therein, an electrical heating. element comprising superposed conductors disposed within said slot, compressed refractory insulating material surrounding` said element and supporting the same in said slot in proper relation to said plate, and a sheet metal cover closing the 'slot and having its edges bent downward into wedging relation with the slot walls with said material between the cover edges. whereby expension of said material wedges the cover more securely in place anud displacement of the cover due to Such expansion is effectively prevented.

- JOSEPH W. MYERS. 

